ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has been ranked 124 out of 180 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2020 released on Thursday by the Transparency Interna­tional, as the country’s score has lowered to 31 from 32 out of 100 from the last year.

Pakistan’s ranking in 2019 was 120 among 180 countries and its rise to 124 indicates that the perception of corruption in the public sector has slightly worsened.

The country has also scored less than last year in two categories, Rule of Law Index and Varieties of Democracy, due to which Pakistan’s score in CPI 2020 has been reduced by one.

The questions asked by World Justice Project in connection with Rule of Law Index and Varieties of Democracy are about corruption of government officials viz. legislature, executive, judiciary, police and military, explained chairman of Pakistan chapter of Transparency International, Sohail Muzaffar.

He emphasised that Pak­istan had to improve its performance in these sectors.

PM says Transparency International used data of 2017, 2018 for report

Mr Muzaffar said that downing of ranking and score was despite the extra­ordinary efforts of the Natio­nal Accountability Bureau (NAB), which claimed to have recovered Rs363 billion in the last two years, and the Public Accounts Committee, which claimed to have recovered Rs300bn in the last two years.

PM reviews report

The Transparency International report was discussed at a meeting of Prime Minister Imran Khan with the spokesmen of his government and party.

Sources said that the prime minister welcomed the report and observed that the Transparency International had used the data of years 2017 and 2018 for preparing the report about Pakistan.

Reacting to the opposition’s criticism of the government, he said it would understand the report when it got its translated copy.

Mr Muzaffar was not available for comment on the period covered in the report, but another official of the Transparency Inter­national, who preferred not to be named, said the report was the 2020 edition. According to the document provided by him, the Transparency International disclosed the full source description of the 2020 report, wherein data from 13 sources was used for the construction of the report.

Out of these reports, three were published in 2019, and these were: Global Insight Country Risk Ratings, 2019; World Bank Country Policy and Institutional Assessment, 2019; and World Economic Forum Executive Opinion Survey, 2019. The only data collected from a 2018 publication was African Development Bank Country Policy and Institutional Assessment. All the remaining publications were published in 2020.

While commenting on the Transparency Interna­tional’s report, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Communication, Shahbaz Gill, explained that the lowering of Pakistan’s score in CPI 2020 was due to negative rating by two institutions out of eight.

In a tweet, he said that Pakistan was given 25 points in 2020 in the Rule of Law Index against 27 points given in 2019. In 2020, Pakistan was given 22 points in the Verities of Democracy category as compared to 27 points in 2019.

Giving full source description, Transparency International says 13 data sources were used to construct the CPI 2020.

NAB has welcomed the Transparency International report and said that the bureau under the dynamic leadership of its chairman, Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, believed in eradication of corruption and brought big fish to justice so that looted money from corrupt elements could be recovered and deposited in the national exchequer.

The report says in the neighbouring countries, corruption score of India, Iran and Nepal has reduced by one and Malaysia’s score by two. Afghanistan score has improved by three and of Turkey by one.

The CPI 2020 report says that persistent corruption is undermining healthcare systems and contributing to democratic backsliding amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Countries that perform well on the index invest more in healthcare, are better able to provide universal health coverage and are less likely to violate democratic norms and institutions or the rule of law.

Chair of Transparency International Delia Ferreira Rubio said, “The past year has tested governments like no other in memory, and those with higher levels of corruption have been less able to meet the challenge. But even those at the top of the CPI must urgently address their role in perpetuating corruption at home and abroad.”

The 2020 edition of the CPI ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, drawing on 13 expert assessments and surveys of business executives. It uses a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). Denmark and New Zealand top the index with 88 points. Syria, Somalia and South Sudan come last with 14, 12 and 12 points, respectively.

Corruption poses a critical threat to people’s lives and livelihoods, especially when combined with a public health emergency. Clean public sectors correlate with greater investment in healthcare. Uruguay, for example, which has the highest CPI score in Latin America (71), invests heavily in healthcare and has a robust epidemiological surveillance system, which has aided its response to Covid-19 and other infectious diseases, like yellow fever and Zika.

In contrast, Bangladesh scores just 26 and invests little in healthcare while corruption there has flourished during Covid-19, ranging from bribery in health clinics to misappropriated aid. Corruption is also pervasive in the procurement of medical supplies. Countries with higher corruption levels also tend to be the worst violators of rule of law and democratic institutions during the Covid-19 crisis. These include Philippines (34), where the response to Covid-19 has been characterised by major attacks on human rights and media freedom.

Continuing a downward trend, the United States has achieved its worst score since 2012, with 67 points. In addition to alleged conflicts of interest and abuse of office at the highest level, in 2020 weak oversight of the $1 trillion Covid-19 relief package raised serious concerns and marked a retreat from longstanding democratic norms promoting accountable government.

The past year highlighted integrity challenges among even the highest-scoring countries, proving that no country is free of corruption. To reduce corruption and better respond to future crises, Transparency International recommends that all governments should strengthen oversight institutions to ensure that resources reach those most in need.

Anti-corruption authorities and oversight institutions must have sufficient funds, resources and independence to perform their duties. They should ensure open and transparent contracting to combat wrongdoing, identify conflicts of interest and ensure fair pricing, and defend democracy and promote civic space to create the enabling conditions to hold governments accountable, and publish relevant data and guarantee access to information to ensure that the public receives easy, accessible, timely and meaningful information.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2021